Yacht and yacht model

ABSTRACT

A yacht model or a full scale yacht includes a hull and a mast is provided on the hull to extend upward from the hull to support a main sail. A spinnaker is provided in front of the mast and the spinnaker is made of a plastic material and formed in a bulged configuration to possess an appearance of receiving wind. The spinnaker has a top portion connected to an upper portion of the mast in a manner which allows a turning movement of the spinnaker about the mast. Booms may be provided between the mast and a lower portion of the spinnaker for maintaining the lower portion of the spinnaker in a position spaced from the mast while allowing the turning movement. The lower portion of the spinnaker is connected at the opposite sides to a rear portion of the hull through strap like flexible connecting members.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to yacht having a spinnaker provided infront of a main sail. The present invention can be embodied both as anactual yacht suitable for sailing with crews on board or as a model of ayacht which may be of a reduced scale. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to a yacht structure which is suitable not only fordisplay but also for sailing on water when it is embodied as a model ofa reduced scale.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Conventionally, a yacht model includes a hull provided with a main sailand a jib. Recently, there are many yachts which are provided with aspinnaker provided in front of the main sail for receiving back wind toproduce forward thrust force. In those yachts, the spinnakers are madeof flexible cloths or sheets so that they cannot retain their bulgedshapes when they are not receiving back wind. When it is intended tobuild a model of a yacht having a spinnaker, it becomes difficult torepresent or express the bulged shape of the spinnaker if it is made ofa flexible cloth or a sheet, so that such model will not have anappearance of an actual yacht having a spinnaker. The spinnaker for ayacht model may therefore be formed by a plastic material through asuitable forming technique so that the spinnaker possesses a bulgedshape. It should however be noted that a yacht model having such aspinnaker may not be suitable for enjoying by operating on water usingthe spinnaker as effective thrusting means because the spinnaker willnot be able to change freely its orientation depending on the directionof wind to which it is exposed.

It should further be noted that a spinnaker of conventional yacht isdesigned so that it receives wind coming from backside or obliquelybackside to produce a thrust force. Therefore, the spinnaker must befolded down and the jib must be used instead when the wind comes front.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a yacht ora yacht model which has a spinnaker of a bulged configuration to have anappearance of receiving wind but nevertheless can satisfactorilyfunction to produce thrust on water by receiving wind.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a yacht or a yachtmodel having a spinnaker which can be used even under wind coming front.

According to the present invention, the above and other objects can beaccomplished by providing yacht having a spinnaker of a bulgedconfiguration to possess an appearance of receiving wind, the spinnakerbeing carried at the top portion by a mast and connected at the oppositesides of the lower portion to the rear portion of the hull in a mannerthat it can turn around the mast with a spacing between the mast and thespinnaker. The spinnaker may be made by a hard or semi-hard plasticmaterial through an appropriate forming technique. Alternatively, thespinnaker may be made of a cloth or a flexible sheet, the configurationof the spinnaker being retained by means of appropriately shaped ribmembers which may be attached to the cloth or the sheet forming thespinnaker. Preferably, the opposite sides of the lower portion of thespinnaker are interconnected to the mast through relatively rigid boomsin a manner that a turning movement of the spinnaker is allowed and thespinnaker or the booms are connected to the rear portion of the hullthrough strap members or the like.

According to another mode of the present invention, support arms may beprovided to assist the booms in the case where it is difficult tosupport the lower portion of the spinnaker only by the booms. When thepresent invention is embodied in a yacht model, the opposite sides ofthe lower portion of the spinnaker may be connected to the rear portionof the hull through wire or strap like members which may be secured topins or like members provided on the hull.

According to the features of the present invention, the spinnaker canchange its orientation depending on the wind impinging upon thespinnaker to produce the thrust. It should therefore be understood thatthe spinnaker is not limited to the use with back wind. Since thespinnaker is retained in the bulged shape to present an appearance ofreceiving wind, a yacht model embodying the present invention has anappearance that the spinnaker is bulged under wind so that it issuitable for display. The spinnaker is carried at the top end portion bythe upper portion of the mast and connected at the lower portion to thehull or to the mast, so that the spinnaker is maintained in a positionwhere it should be during sailing under wind.

It should further be noted that the yacht in accordance with the presentinvention can produce a forward thrust even under a head wind. When windcomes obliquely front and flows along the spinnaker, there will beproduced an aerofoil effect due to the curved configuration of thespinnaker generating an aeronautical force which will have a forwardlydirected component. Since it is possible to provide the spinnaker with adeeply bulged configuration, the aforementioned aeronautical force canbe of a value that the forward component of the force can contribute tosailing under a wind force.

According to the present invention, it is also possible to connect theopposite sides of the lower portion of the spinnaker through a strap ofan adjustable length. With this arrangement, when the hull is sidewardlyinclined under a side wind, the spinnaker will be swung under agravitational force toward the direction of wind and maintained at anangle with respect to the direction of wind to function as a jib. Thus,it will be understood that the spinnaker of the present invention canchange its orientation in accordance with the direction of wind togenerate a force effectively utilizing the wind force.

The above and other objects of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of preferred embodiments takingreference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a yacht model in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing a yacht model in accordance withanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing a portion of a retention memberused in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a yacht model in accordance with afurther embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a fitting for attaching the spinnakerin the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a yacht model in accordance with afurther embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a yacht model showing still furtherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a yacht model showing a modification ofthe structure shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing the structure for attaching theboom in the structure shown in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a yacht model showing a modification ofthe structure shown in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7B is a perspective view showing the attachment of the boom in thestructure shown in FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8A is a front view showing a further embodiment of the spinnaker;

FIG. 8B is a sectional view of the spinnaker shown in FIG. 8A;

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a further embodiment of the spinnaker;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an actual yacht embodying the featuresof the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a front view of the yacht shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a front view in an enlarged scale showing the attachment ofrib members to the spinnaker;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the spinnaker in a folded state;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a yacht in accordance with afurther embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatical illustration showing an aeronautical forceproduced in the spinnaker.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown ayacht model including a yacht hull 1 provided with a keel at the bottomside and a rudder at the rear end portion. The hull 1 is furtherprovided with a mast 5 which extends upwards from the hull 1. As in aconventional structure, the mast 5 carries a main sail 4 which may bemade of a flexible sheet such as a cloth.

A spinnaker 6 is provided in front of the mast 5. The spinnaker 6 ismade of a hard or semi-hard plastic material and formed in a bulgedconfiguration to present an appearance of receiving wind. The spinnaker6 is substantially of an equilateral triangular shape having a topattached to the mast by means of a fitting 7. The lower portion of thespinnaker 6 is further connected at the opposite sides to a rear portionof the yacht hull 1 through connecting members 8 which may be made ofwires. For the purpose, the hull 1 is provided with pins 9 at theopposite sides of the rear portion of the hull 1 and the wire members 8connecting the spinnaker 6 to the yacht hull 1 are attached to the pins9. It is preferable that the connecting wire members 8 are attached tothe pins 9 so that a swingable movements of the members 8 are allowed.The main sail 4 ia also connected at the lower portion to the rearportion of the hull 1 through a suitable connecting member 17.

Apparently, the yacht model shown in FIG. 1 can be displayed by placingit on an appropriate stand. When the yacht model is displayed, theconnecting wire members 8 function to support the lower portion of thespinnaker 6 to prevent it from being hung down along the mast 5. Thus,the spinnaker 6 can possess the appearance of receiving wind from rearside of the hull 1. When the yacht model is operated on water, thespinnaker 6 can swing around the mast 5 in accordance with the directionof the wind and produce thrust force. In this instance, the connectingmembers 8 can deflect whenever necessary so that they do not constrainthe movement of the spinnaker 6. Thus, sailing under wind force ispossible with this yacht model.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, the embodiment shown therein is different fromthe embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that it includes a connecting member10 made of a wire and having two longitudinal legs 10a which areconnected together at one ends by a transverse arm 10b. The yacht hull 1is provided with a pin 11 and the connecting member 10 is connected tothe pin 11 at the center of the transverse arm 10b through a swiveljoint 10c as shown in FIG. 2B. The function of the structure shown inFIG. 2A is the same as that of the structure shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the yacht model shown therein has a spinnaker 6which is attached to the upper portion of the mast 5 through a swiveljoint structure which is shown in FIG. 3B. As shown, the mast 5 isprovided with a pair of eye fittings 7A which are attached to the mast 5one above the other. The spinnaker 6 is provided with a fitting 13including a hook portion 13A and a triangular attaching portion 13B. Thefitting 13 is attached to the spinnaker 6 at the attaching portion 13Band engaged with the eye fitting 7A at the hook portion 13A. Theengagement between the eye fitting 7A and the hook portion 13B of thefitting 13 ensures that the spinnaker 6 is retained in the position withrespect to the mast as shown in FIG. 3A while swivel movements of thespinnaker 6 is permitted. The lower portion of the spinnaker 6 isconnected at the opposite sides to the hull 1 through connecting straps12 which are engaged with pins 9 provided on the hull 1. The connectingstraps 12 are respectively provided with adjusting device 12A foradjusting the length of the straps 12. When the yacht model is to bedisplayed, the connecting straps 12 are tightened through an adjustmentof the device 12A so that the spinnaker 6 is constrained against swivelmovements. When the yacht model is to be operated on water, theconnecting straps 12 are slackened so that the spinnaker 6 is free toturn around the mast 5.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the yacht model shown therein has a pair ofbooms 14 which are connected at one ends to the opposite sides of thelower portion of the spinnaker 6. The other ends of the booms 14 areengaged with eye fitting 7B provided on the mast 5 so that swivelmovements of the booms 14 are allowed about the eye fittings 7B. Thelower portion of the spinnaker 6 is further connected at the oppositesides to the yacht hull 1 through a pair of connecting straps 12 havinga length adjusting device 12A as in the embodiment of FIG. 3A.

In FIG. 5, the yacht model shown therein includes a further pair ofbooms 15 which are connected at one ends to the opposite sides of thelower portion of the spinnaker 6. The other ends of the booms 15 areengaged with an eye fitting 7C which are provided on the mast beneaththe eye fitting 7B. In other respects, the structure is the same as thatin the embodiment of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 6A, there is shown a modification of the structureshown in FIG. 5. In the structure of FIG. 6A, the upper and lower boomsare formed by a single wire member. As shown in FIG. 6B, the boom 15includes an upper arm 15A which is engaged at one end with the upper eyefitting 7B. The upper arm 15A is contiguous with an eye portion formedat the front end portion of the upper arm 15A and the upper arm 15A isconnected with the spinnaker 6 at the eye portion. The boom 15 furtherincludes a lower arm 15B which has one end engaged with the lower eyefitting 7C. The lower arm 15B extends obliquely forward and iscontiguous through a second eye portion with a connecting arm 15C whichhas a front end contiguous with the first mentioned eye portion. Thesecond eye portion of the boom 15 is connected through a strap 12 withthe pin 9 provided on the hull 1.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a modification of the boom structure shown in FIG.6B. In this structure, a pair of booms 15 are made integrally from asingle wire member. The left and right booms 15 are connected at theends of the lower arms 15B by means of a third eye portion 15D. Insteadof the lower eye fitting 7C in the embodiment of FIG. 6A, there isprovided a pin bracket 7D on the mast 5 and the third eye portion 15D inthe boom structure is engaged with the pin on the bracket 7D.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show another embodiment of the spinnaker 6. In thisembodiment, the spinnaker 6 is formed at the rear surface with aplurality of laterally and longitudinally extending ribs 18. In otherrespects, the structure is the same as that in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 9, there is shown a further embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, the spinnaker 6 is provided at eachcorner portion with a reinforcement plate 19A, 19B attached thereto. Thereinforcement plates 19A and 19B serve to prevent the spinnaker 6 frombeing broken in service at the connections with the connecting members.

FIGS. 10 through 13 show an embodiment in which the present invention isembodied in a full scale yacht. In this embodiment, the spinnaker 6 ismade of a flexible cloth or any other suitable sheet material. Thespinnaker 6 has a wind receiving section 6a of substantially trapezoidalconfiguration and provided with a plurality of laterally extendingarch-shaped ribs 6c. As shown in detail in FIG. 12, the wind receivingsection 6a of the spinnaker 6 is formed at portions where the ribs 6care to be installed with laterally extending pockets 6b and the rib 6cis inserted into each of the pockets 6b. In order to retain the rib 6cin the arch configuration, there is provided a connecting wire member 6dextending chordwise between the opposite ends of the rib 6c. As shown inFIG. 12, the wire member 6d is provided at the opposite ends with caps6e which are fitted to the opposite ends of the rib 6c. It willtherefore be understood that the spinnaker 6 is retained in a bulgedconfiguration to possess an appearance of receiving wind.

The upper end of the spinnaker 6 is connected to the mast 5 throughconnecting wires 9a. The lower portion of the spinnaker 6 is connectedat the opposite sides to the mast 5 by means of a pair of booms 27 whichhave one ends connected to the mast for swivel movements. The lowerportion of the spinnaker 6 is further connected at the opposite sides tothe rear portion of the yacht hull 1 by means of connecting wires 28. Anadjustment of the lengths of the wires 28 produces a turning or swivelmovement of the spinnaker 6 about the mast 5 and the spinnaker 6 can beretained in the adjusted position. The spinnaker 6 of this embodimentcan be folded down by slackening the wires 9a as shown in FIG. 13 whenit is not needed. In other respects, the structure is similar to that inFIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 14, there is shown a further embodiment wherein thepresent invention is embodied in a full scale yacht. The structure ofthe spinnaker 6 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 10 through 13. In theembodiment of FIG. 14, a cable 30 is stretched between an upper endportion of the mast 5 and the front end portion of the hull 1. The cable30 is connected to the spinnaker 6 at the center of each of the pockets6b to which the ribs 6c are inserted. It will therefore be understoodthat in this embodiment the spinnaker 6 can swivel about the cable 30.This structure is advantageous in that the spinnaker 6 can always beretained at positions close to the longitudinal center line of the yachthull 1. It is therefore possible to prevent the hull from being inclinedunder the weight of the spinnaker 6 when a swivel movement of thespinnaker 6 is produced.

FIG. 15 shows one function of the spinnaker 6 in accordance with thepresent invention. When the spinnaker 6 receives an oblique head wind asshown by an arrow W, aeronautical lift force L will be produced in thespinnaker 6. The lift force L has a component in the front direction Fso that the spinnaker 6 can produce a forwardly directed thrust force.

The invention has thus been shown and described with reference tospecific embodiments, however, it should be noted that the invention isin no way limited to the details of the specific structures but changesand modifications may be made without departing from the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:
 1. A yacht structure including a hull, a mast provided on thehull to extend upward from the hull for supporting a main sail, aspinnaker provided in front of the mast, said spinnaker being retainedin bulged configuration to possess an appearance of receiving wind evenwhen it is not receiving wind, said spinnaker having a top portionconnected to an upper portion of the mast in a manner which allows aturning movement of the spinnaker about the mast, means engaged with alower portion of said spinnaker at the opposite sides of said spinnakerfor maintaining said spinnaker in positions spaced apart from said mastwhile at the same time allowing said turning movement of said spinnakerabout the mast.
 2. A yacht structure in accordance with claim 1 in whichsaid maintaining means includes boom means which extend between saidspinnaker and said mast.
 3. A yacht structure in accordance with claim 2in which said lower portion of said spinnaker is further connected witha rear portion of said hull through flexible connecting means.
 4. Ayacht structure in accordance with claim 1 in which said spinnaker ismade of a formed plastic.
 5. A yacht structure in accordance with claim1 in which said spinnaker is made of a flexible sheet material andincludes arch shaped rib means for retaining the bulged configuration ofthe spinnaker.
 6. A yacht structure in accordance with claim 1 in whichsaid spinnaker is made of a plastic material and has rib meansintegrally formed on a rear surface.
 7. A yacht structure in accordancewith claim 1 in which said spinnaker is made of a plastic material andhad corner portions provided with reinforcement plates attached thereto.8. A yacht structure including a hull, a mast provided on the hull toextend upward from the hull for supporting a main sail, a spinnakerprovided in front of the mast, said spinnaker being retained in a bulgedconfiguration to possess an appearance of receiving wind even when it isnot receiving wind, said spinnaker having a top portion connected to anupper portion of the mast in a manner which allows a turning movement ofthe spinnaker about the mast, cable means extending between an upper endportion of said mast and a front end portion of said hull, meansconnecting said cable means to said spinnaker at points intermediate ofthe side edges of the spinnaker so that the spinnaker can swivel aboutsaid cable means.
 9. A yacht model including a hull, a mast provided onthe hull to extend upward from the hull for supporting a main sail, aspinnaker provided in front of the mast, said spinnaker being made of aplastic material and formed in a bulged configuration to possess anappearance of receiving wind even when it is not receiving wind, saidspinnaker having a top portion connected to an upper portion of the mastin a manner which allows a turning movement of the spinnaker about themast, said spinnaker having a lower portion which is maintained spacedapart from said mast and is connected at the opposite sides to a rearportion of said hull through connecting means made of a wire.
 10. Ayacht model in accordance with claim 9 in which said spinnaker is madeof a plastic material and has rib means integrally formed on a rearsurface.
 11. A yacht model in accordance with claim 9 in which saidspinnaker is made of a plastic material and had corner portions providedwith reinforcement plates attached thereto.
 12. A yacht model includinga hull, a mast provided on the hull to extend upward from the hull andsupporting a main said, a spinnaker provided in front of the mast, saidspinnaker being made of a plastic material and formed in bulgedconfiguration to possess an appearance of receiving wind even when it isnot receiving wind, said spinnaker having a top portion connected to anupper portion of the mast in a manner which allows a turning movement ofthe spinnaker about the mast, means for maintaining the opposite sidesof a lower portion of said spinnaker in positions spaced from said mast,said opposite sides of said lower portion of said spinnaker beingmovable with respect to said hull in response to said turning movementof said spinnaker, the lower portion of said spinnaker being connectedat the opposite sides to a rear portion of said hull through flexibleconnected means.
 13. A yacht model including a hull, a mast provided onthe hull to extend upward from the hull and supporting a main said, aspinnaker provided in front of the mast, said spinnaker being made of aplastic material and formed in bulged configuration to possess anappearance of receiving wind, said spinnaker having a top portionconnected to an upper portion of the mast in a manner which allows aturning movement of the spinnaker about the mast, boom means includingupper arm means and lower arm means, said boom being connected to saidmast through swivel means provided at a plurality of vertically spacedpositions and located on opposite sides of said spinnaker at its lowerend between said mast and a lower portion of said spinnaker formaintaining said lower portion of said spinnaker in positions spacedfrom said mast while allowing said turning movement, the lower portionof said spinnaker being connected at the opposite sides to a rearpotions of said hull through flexible connecting means, said flexibleconnecting means further being connected to an intermediate portion ofsaid lower arm means.